US Airlines Added Over 3,000 Jobs In January

The US Department of Transportation (DOT) has just released a report which claims that US airlines added over 3,000 jobs in January. As the air transit industry has recovered from the pandemic, it has seen continuous growth in total jobs. However, January saw a sudden spike in job openings setting it apart from other months. This is likely because airlines nationwide are gearing up for one of the busiest summer travel seasons in history.
Rapid hiring
In the report released on March 10th, the DOT shared that the US airline industry employed 787,328 employees. This includes passenger and air cargo operations. This employment number shows that the sector hired 3,093 additional workers in January, as the industries’ employment numbers at the end of December were 784,235. The 0.39% increase in workers is unique, as winter tends to be one of the slow seasons for air travel, which means that historically the airline industry’s job market does not expand during this period. However, this winter, the industry has experienced one of the largest increases in job opportunities ever during the winter months.
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Photo: DOT
When the pandemic spread across the globe, the passenger air transit industry nearly fell apart as most flight services were canceled. Those that remained in operation were under heavy restrictions, and very few were profitable. However, most airlines, airports, and other third-party companies overcame the tough times and resumed operations in 2021 and 2022. While many air transit operations came back online in late 2020 and 2021, they were still under heavy restrictions and were far from what they were in 2019. When 2022 rolled around and nearly all travel restrictions were removed, demand came flooding in, overwhelming airline and airport operations.
Photo: Denver International Airport
The industry struggled to keep up with the rapidly growing demand throughout the year. One of the most significant issues was insufficient staff numbers. From pilots to baggage handlers, airlines desperately needed more workers. The airlines hope to get ahead of this summer travel season to avoid a repeat of last year by hiring more staff than are currently required so they may be trained and prepared for the coming summer. The airlines anticipate this will be one of the busiest travel years in history as the industry currently employs 56,944 more workers than it did in 2019.
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Passenger versus cargo
The pandemic story has been very different for passenger and cargo operations. In January, passenger airlines hired 4,583 employees. The airline that hired the largest number of employees was Delta Air Lines, with 1,499. Next came United Airlines with 1,256 new hires; third place went to Southwest Airlines with 1,058. Cargo numbers look a bit different.
Photo: Denver International Airport
During the pandemic, air cargo operations saw increased demand as many more people were ordering packages. This led to a massive increase in demand and fueled significant growth in the cargo sector. However, as stores have opened up and most things have resumed as usual, demand for air cargo has flatlined. While it is still higher than in 2019, it is not growing. In January, cargo operators lost 964 jobs. FedEx lost the most of any cargo airline as it lost 910 jobs.
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